As the final dash for the cash inches closer, all four drivers are feeling the thrill running through their veins. Every single one of them is in a must-win situation. After all, coming this far and going back home with a bag full of disappointment is not what anybody wants.

Team Penske‘s Ryan Blaney and HMS star William Byron have already started referring to each other as family. And Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell have seemed to have already resolved their differences from the dirt tracks. So that leaves two drivers face to face with each other; Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. Will the preconceived HMS-JGR battle get rewritten, giving rise to an HMS-Penske showdown?

A battle of statistics between the houses of Penske and Hendrick

The rules of the battle are simple. If one of the four title contenders wins the race, he wins the championship. And if someone out of the Championship 4 wins, it will come down to points. However, that might be a bit less exciting to watch. Nevertheless, let’s just focus on what we have on the plate for now.

Kyle Larson was the first driver to have made it into Championship 4. Following that, he got three extra weeks to prepare for Phoenix. His performances at Homestead-Miami and Martinsville wouldn’t have affected his spot in the championship race. Unfortunately for Blaney, he’s just qualified for the coveted Grand Finale, and his time to prepare for it is almost over. Will that give Larson an edge over Blaney?

Let’s come straight down to facts. In his previous six starts at the 1-mile raceway, Ryan Blaney‘s performance is quite impressive. This 29-year-old racer has 2 top-10s, 2 other top-5s, and a pair of runner-up finishes in addition. Although he doesn’t have a win at the quirky oval, he has led a combined 321 laps in his previous six tries.

However, Larson won at Phoenix in 2021. Moreover, he has 2 top-5s and 2 top-10s in the last six outings there just like Blaney does. But when it comes to laps led, Blaney has 11 more to his credit.

Moving forward, both of these drivers have equal shots at winning the championship. Although many might prefer Larson and consider him the favorite this year, nobody can deny that Ryan Blaney has the ability to turn the tables at the most unexpected moments.

Watch this story: Kyle Larson’s New Challenge: From NASCAR to IndyCar

On top of that, Larson has a habit of running into walls. Although he is good at rebounding from his mistakes, Phoenix might not be the place to make mistakes in the first place.

Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson have their individual challenges to face

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For Blaney, it’s about upholding the banner of a family of racers. Blaney’s father, Dave Blaney has made 473 Cup Series starts over 17 seasons. But the name of the Blaneys was made in the world of sprint cars. Ryan Blaney’s uncle, Dale Blaney won a World of Outlaws championship and his grandfather, Lou was victorious in several dirt track championships.

Hailing from a family of speedsters, it’s now Ryan Blaney’s opportunity to add a NASCAR Cup Series title to the family history. According to AP NEWS, Blaney is doing this for his parents as they will be watching him race next week. “I grew up watching dad race. It’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to do this like he did,” he admitted before adding, “I know all the work he had to do to get me here. I saw all the sacrifices he and my mother made to get me to this point, to get started.”

“It would be cool to come full circle for them. I think as a kid your biggest thing you want to do when you’re a kid is make your parents proud. That would be the ultimate proud moment I think. It would be cool to bring an asphalt championship to the Blaney family name,” he went on to say.

But for Kyle Larson, the pressure is a bit different. Last year, Larson got himself a new home in the Phoenix area. Normally, that would mean, this 31-year-old Elk Grove native would get an ample amount of rest before his big day. But that might not be the case for the father of three, which includes a 10-month-old.

Larson did admit that he was a little perplexed by the fact that his youngest child doesn’t have any track of time and starts wailing in the middle of the night out of nowhere. So, he wishes for his wife Katelyn to take him to another room and leave him alone to get his rest. But, it is easier said than done for a family man like Larson.

“Cooper was up at like 4:50 this morning, so I would love for Katelyn to, like, take him into a different room maybe Saturday night or Sunday morning,” said Larson. “But I’m nervous about that conversation,” he pointed out.

Different people with different problems, all fixated on the same goal, the Championship title. Who will win? The wait is almost over!

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